Title
Incorporated County of Los Alamos Code Ordinance No. 02-294; An Ordinance Amending Chapter 40, Article III, Sections 40-171, 40-173 and 40-175 of the Code of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos Pertaining to Potable and Non-Potable Water Rates and Bulk Delivery Rates
Recommended Action
I move that Council adopt Incorporated County of Los Alamos Code Ordinance No. 02-294; An Ordinance Amending Chapter 40, Article III, Sections 40-171, 40-173 and 40-175 of the Code of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos Pertaining to Potable and Non-Potable Water Rates and Bulk Delivery Rates; and ask staff to assure that it is published in summary form.
Utilities Manager Recommendation
The Utilities Manager recommends that Council adopt the ordinance as presented.
Board, Commission or Committee Recommendation
The Board of Public Utilities recommends that Council adopt the ordinance as presented.
Body
This proposed water rate adjustment is in accordance with the long-range financial sustainability plan for the water utility that has been under discussion for the past two years. The rate adjustment was presented in detail and discussed by the Board of Public Utilities at its regular meeting in January 2019 and approved on February 20, 2019. The following staff report is a representation of the details presented at the preliminary discussion. As requested, the attachments have been updated to include affordability assessments for Los Alamos average household income, and New Mexico average household income as well.
The ten-year forecast for the water utility presented with the FY2019/20 budget includes a series of incremental rate increases to generate revenues needed for current operations and to build cash reserves necessary for future infrastructure needs. Over the course of several meetings with the Board of Public Utilities in the fall of 2016, several alternative scenarios were considered. After discussion, a rate scenario was selected tha...
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